Charles Dickens (1812-1870), the great nineteenth century English novelist, was born near Portsmouth. His father ran heavily into debt and when he was twelve, he had to go and work in a factory for making boot polish. The only formal education he received was a two-year schooling at a school for poor children. In fact, he had to teach himself all he knew. He worked for a time as junior clerk in a lawyer's office. After that, he worked as a reporter in the law courts, and later in parliament, for London newspapers. His career as a writer of fiction began in 1833 with short stories and essays in periodicals, and in 1837 his comic novel The Pickwick Papers made him the most popular author at his time in England.
　　He was a great observer of people and their places because he was attracted by life and conditions in mid-nineteenth century London. He wrote 19 novels all his life and in many of them, Dickens gave a realistic picture of all classes of England society, showing deep sympathy for the poor and unfortunate, exposing the injustice and inhumanity（不人道） of the bourgeoisie（布爾喬亞階級(jí)）.
　　Many of his novels like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and so on drew attention to the unsatisfactory social conditions that existed in England over a hundred years ago.
　　Dickens criticized capitalist society from the point of view of bourgeois humanism. He wished to see improvement in the living conditions of the poor, but failed to find any effective means to achieve that end.
【小題1】Dickens only received a little formal education because______.

A．he wanted to teach himself

B．he wanted to work and made a lot of money

C．he was too poor to afford any more formal education

D．he wanted some working experiences to be a novelist

【小題2】According to Dickens, the society at his time in England was________.

A．just

B．poor

C．comfortable

D．unsatisfying

【小題3】Which of the following novel made Dickens the most popular writer at his time in England?

A．Oliver Twist	B．The Pickwick Papers
C．A Tale of Two Cities	D．Great Expectations

【小題4】According to the passage, which of the following about Dickens is true?

A．He didn't go to school at all.

B．He only wrote about poor people and showed deep sympathy for them.

C．He began to write fictions when he was 21 years old.

D．He found some effective ways to improve the living conditions of the poor.

【小題5】It can be inferred from the passage that________.

A．Dickens had a miserable childhood

B．Dickens tried many different jobs before he became a professional writer

C．Dickens wrote many novels but only some of them are popular

D．Dickens criticized capitalist society and helped to improve the living conditions of the poor

 

Charles Dickens (1812-1870), the great nineteenth century English novelist, was born near Portsmouth. His father ran heavily into debt and when he was twelve, he had to go and work in a factory for making boot polish. The only formal education he received was a two-year schooling at a school for poor children. In fact, he had to teach himself all he knew. He worked for a time as junior clerk in a lawyer’s office. After that, he worked as a reporter in the law courts, and later in parliament, for London newspapers. His career as a writer of fiction began in 1833 with short stories and essays in periodicals, and in 1837 his comic novel The Pickwick Papers made him the most popular author at his time in England.

He was a great observer of people and their places because he was attracted by life and conditions in mid-nineteenth century London. He wrote 19 novels all his life and in many of them, Dickens gave a realistic picture of all classes of England society, showing deep sympathy for the poor and unfortunate, exposing the injustice and inhumanity（不人道） of the bourgeoisie（資產(chǎn)階級(jí)）.

Many of his novels like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities and so on drew attention to the unsatisfactory social conditions that existed in England over a hundred years ago.

Dickens criticized capitalist society from the point of view of bourgeois humanism（人文主義）. He wished to see improvement in the living conditions of the poor, but failed to find any effective means to achieve that end.

61. Dickens only received a little formal education because______.

A. he wanted to teach himself

B. he wanted to work and made a lot of money

C. he was too poor to afford any more formal education

D. he wanted some working experiences to be a novelist

62. According to Dickens, the society at his time in England was________.

A. just     B. poor    C. comfortable        D. unsatisfying

63. Which of the following novel made Dickens the most popular writer at his time in England?

A. Oliver Twist             B. The Pickwick Papers 

C. A Tale of Two Cities       D. Great Expectations

64. According to the passage, which of the following about Dickens is true?

A. He didn’t go to school at all.

B. He only wrote about poor people and showed deep sympathy for them.

C. He began to write fictions when he was 21years old.

D. He found some effective ways to improve the living conditions of the poor.

65. It can be inferred from the passage that________.

A. Dickens had a miserable childhood

B. Dickens tried many different jobs before he became a professional writer

C. Dickens wrote many novels but only some of them are popular

D. Dickens criticized capitalist（資本主義的）society and helped to improve the living conditions of the poor

 

Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, U.S.A.,is in the central part of the state, on the Santa Fe River, which flows into the Rio Grande 35 kilometres west of the city. More than two thousand metres above sea level, it lies in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains with the Ortiz Mountains to the southeast.
Santa Fe was founded in 1609 by the Spanish (西班牙人)on an old Indian village.In 1680 the Indians seized the place but only held it for twelve years before the Spanish retook it. The city remained under Spanish rule until Mexico won its independence (獨(dú)立) in 1821. From then on it was a Mexican city until 1846 when it was taken over by American troops.
With a population of 48,953, Santa Fe is now the second largest city in the state. Because of its sunny weather, rich history and surrounding mountains, it is a good place for holiday makers. Besides hunting and skating in the mountains people enjoy shopping in the Indian and Spanish shops, which brings a large income to the city every year. In summer there is an international opera (歌劇) season when operas are shown in a partly-roofed ,open-air theatre daily for people from all over the world.
【小題1】At present Santa Fe belongs to           .

A．India

B．Mexico

C．Spain(西班牙)

D．the United States

【小題2】Which of the drawings below gives an idea of what Santa Fe is like?
RG="the" Rio Grande  SFR="the" Santa Fe River  OM="the" Ortiz Mountains

【小題3】Santa Fe was under the rule of the Mexicans in        .

A．1675

B．1695

C．1816

D．1833

【小題4】The people who held Santa Fe for the longest period in history were the           .

A．Spanish

B．Indians

C．Mexicans

D．Americans

【小題5】What is of special interest to people who visit Santa Fe in summer?

A．Hunting.

B．Fishing.

C．Watching operas.

D．Doing shopping.

【小題6】Santa Fe is best described (描述) as a             .

A．trade centre

B．holiday centre

C．home for all nations

D．seaport city

【小題7】One of the reasons for visitors to come to Santa Fe is that it            .

A．has fine weather	B．is the state capital
C．has historical monuments	D．is on the Santa Fe River

People have been burying the dead at Salem’s Hope Cemetery since 1833. The place is filled with old gravestones and gothic mausoleums(哥特式陵墓), the spirits of the dead hanging over the land like an early morning fog.
Keeping watch, a few steps from the road with her skirt over the pedestal (基座), is Goldie Belle Taylor, her face weathered but otherwise in good condition. On this day, she is holding a bunch of pink rises because Goldie Belle always holds flowers. Someone makes sure of that.
“And she has had fresh flowers in her hands for the last 150 years.” Karen Biery lives in Damascus, about five miles west of Hope Cemetery. She’s written a book based on the legend of Goldie Belle Taylor titled Believe. In 1886, at the age of two, young Goldie Belle used her hands to sop up (抹去) the left over elderberry juice from her father’s iron kettle. She died not long after from poisoning. She was the love of her dad’s life, and he was so upset that he sold the family farm to buy the Italian made statue, which today marks her grave.
At first, it was her father who brought the flowers and laid them in her hands. When he died in 1896, the flowers kept coming. Her flowers are different per season. Why do the flowers keep miraculously appearing? People have tried to find out by having camped by the statue, but not even the groundskeepers have been able to catch the criminal.
It’s said that a fairy arrives at Hope Cemetery looking for the grave of her birth mother. She comes across Goldie Belle’s statue.
【小題1】The underlined word “that” in paragraph 2 probably refers to________.

A．her face in good condition

B．her bunch of pink roses

C．Goldie Belle Taylor is holding pink roses

D．Goldie Belle Taylor always holds flowers

【小題2】It can be inferred from the third paragraph __________.

A．her father was poisonous

B．the iron kettle was poisonous

C．elderberry juice was poisonous

D．it was her father that hated her

【小題3】After her father died, the flowers in the hands of Goldie Belle Taylor_______.

A．usually change

B．were stolen

C．a(chǎn)re no longer fresh

D．come from a criminal

【小題4】What would be the best title for the passage?

A．A fairy brings the flowers.

B．The mystery of Goldie’s flowers.

C．What happens to the girl?

D．How do the flowers get there?

Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, U.S.A.,is in the central part of the state, on the Santa Fe River, which flows into the Rio Grande 35 kilometres west of the city. More than two thousand metres above sea level, it lies in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains with the Ortiz Mountains to the southeast.
Santa Fe was founded in 1609 by the Spanish (西班牙人)on an old Indian village.In 1680 the Indians seized the place but only held it for twelve years before the Spanish retook it. The city remained under Spanish rule until Mexico won its independence (獨(dú)立) in 1821. From then on it was a Mexican city until 1846 when it was taken over by American troops.
With a population of 48,953, Santa Fe is now the second largest city in the state. Because of its sunny weather, rich history and surrounding mountains, it is a good place for holiday makers. Besides hunting and skating in the mountains people enjoy shopping in the Indian and Spanish shops, which brings a large income to the city every year. In summer there is an international opera (歌劇) season when operas are shown in a partly-roofed ,open-air theatre daily for people from all over the world.
【小題1】At present Santa Fe belongs to           .

A．India

B．Mexico

C．Spain(西班牙)

D．the United States

【小題2】Which of the drawings below gives an idea of what Santa Fe is like?
RG="the" Rio Grande  SFR="the" Santa Fe River  OM="the" Ortiz Mountains

【小題3】Santa Fe was under the rule of the Mexicans in        .

A．1675

B．1695

C．1816

D．1833

【小題4】One of the reasons for visitors to come to Santa Fe is that it            .

A．has fine weather

B．is the state capital

C．has historical monuments

D．is on the Santa Fe River